Former police officer Alice Vinten has written a piece for Bradford’s The Telegraph & Argus about serving as a female police officer and the inspiration behind her brand-new book, The Real Happy Valley, a collection of real-life stories about female police officers serving across Yorkshire.

In the article, which you can read in full here, Alice writes:

“Each woman that I have written about in The Real Happy Valley is a true inspiration to me. Despite the sometimes dark realities of life that are described in The Real Happy Valley, it is written to be an inspiring, uplifting book. A celebration of women in policing. Each chapter tells the story of one incident, case or investigation, and whilst some of the chapters make for difficult reading, each ends on a note of hope, or justice achieved.”

Police Sergeant Catherine Cawood may be a fictional character, but her bravery, compassion and determination exist in real-life policewomen serving across Yorkshire today.

In The Real Happy Valley, former policewoman Alice Vinten reveals what life on the beat is really like for those protecting the cobbled streets and windswept hills of this historic county. From domestic abuse to kidnap, gang crime and murder, these women will stop at nothing to bring their criminals to justice and in the most extraordinary circumstances, they never fail to put others’ safety before their own.

Gripping, inspiring and eye-opening, The Real Happy Valley is a celebration of our finest officers’ peerless commitment to protect and serve.

The Real Happy Valley is out now. Grab your copy here or, better, via your local bookshop or Bookshop.org.

You can follow Alice on Twitter @AVintenAuthor.